The National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) has welcomed the recent announcement of Rural Generalist Medicine as a new medical specialty field in Australia, congratulating all those who have worked to achieve the milestone.

Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Mark Butler MP made the announcement on 21 September, following a Commonwealth funded joint application by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners to apply to the Medical Board of Australia for this speciality recognition.

Following the Medical Board of Australia’s recommendation, all health ministers have now approved rural generalist medicine as a new field of speciality practice within the specialty of general practice.

NRHA said the move recognises and honours the critical role Rural Generalists (RGs) play in delivering high-quality, comprehensive and culturally safe healthcare to rural and remote communities.

Rural Generalist Medicine encompasses primary care, hospital inpatient care, emergency medicine and population health, providing broad-scope medical care tailored to the needs of local communities.

NRHA chief executive Ms Susi Tegen recognised the historic importance of this change.

“The milestone recognition of the Rural Generalist doctor for rural, remote and regional communities in Australia by the Australian Medical Board makes this only the second addition to specialty practice in 15 years,” she said.

“Rural Generalists are multifaceted in how they support rural patients.

"They provide comprehensive general practice and emergency care, as well as care in at least one, but often more than one, other area of medicine – such as anaesthetics, obstetrics, surgery or mental health in hospital and community clinic settings.”

The NRHA said the outcome follows decades of tireless advocacy by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Rural Doctors Associations of Australia (RDAA), and the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner.

It says it has also been a strong advocate, raising the issue at critical meetings and drafting documentation to the Medical Board of Australia in support of the application for specialty recognition.

The NRHA says it hopes formal recognition of Rural Generalist Medicine will encourage more doctors to enter the very interesting and rewarding field of medicine, strengthening the rural health workforce and, above all, improving the accessible, high-quality healthcare that rural, regional and remote Australians observe.